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WTF Friday: The Legendary 6 Wheeled Civic Lives

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You know a vehicle is wild when it compels me to write a WTF Friday post after all this time.

But when a mythical legend like this 6-wheeled (or tandem if you prefer) Civic is completed. I have to jot at least a few words down.

If you’ve been looking at cars on the internet since, oh, about 2008 or so you’ve seen the photo above before.

A wild Civic EF with an EK front end, and an extra set of wheels behind the factory rear pair. This car could have easily disappeared into obscurity never to be finished like many an overly ambitious build.

No, I’m not throwing shade from my own glass house I know how long it takes to complete large projects.

Almost unbelievably the car was recently spotted in Ohio, with a completed exterior. Given the extensive body modifications, I have to tip my hat to the owner for getting this car to the paint stage.

The thought of block sanding the sides gives me nightmares.

While personally, I would have loved to see it retain the wires I am just happy to see it done. If we use 2009 as its earliest appearance this is at least a 13-year-long project.

As far as I know, the owner doesn’t have any social media, so unfortunately I cannot link you to progress or build photos of any kind.

We just have to live in the moment and appreciate that the car is here today.

I’m told it was recently rear-ended, so the owner has a little bit of work to do, but hopefully, we see some more of it soon.

These wild and over the top builds just rarely exist anymore so it’s very cool to see this one out and about.

Gone Gold with Binbrook Speed And Custom

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It’s been… a minute since I’ve made any sort of update to this site. Apologies are redundant at this point really as it’s been a few years since I’ve really been able to give this property my full attention.

But don’t for a second think that means I have not been paying attention to the Ontario Car scene.

I’ve just been busy. However, I will always, always make time for friends.

Especially friends who put their whole foot in a build like Keith, Brian, and Riley at Binbrook Speed & Custom.

At Motorama 2023 they debuted the 1927 five-window Chevrolet proudly in the front hall.

That’s right, this is a Chevrolet 5 window, not a Ford. Binbrook took a standard 3 window Chevrolet and converted it into something much cooler.

While they were at it they chopped the roof, added louvres and had it painted a beautiful heavy gold flake.

I’m skimming over the modifications to the car here a little, simply because one day I want to be able to shoot it outside and really capture just how awesome it is.

Maybe even alongside the Binbrook Coupe.

This includes taking several photos of the Edelbrock Intake manifold-topped Hemi motor. That intake is actually an extremely rare prototype unit.

So, until I get a chance to really sink my teeth into this car enjoy these photos from the show.

Or, if you want to read more about the car, check out the mini spotlight in my recent article on Speedhunters. The majority of my Motorama 2023 coverage is there or on Instagram.

Coilovers vs. Air Suspension

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Adjustable car suspension is an important component that can significantly impact how well a car
performs, handles, and feels to ride in. Coilovers and air suspension systems are two of the most
popular types of adjustable suspension systems available on the market. Both offer unique benefits
and drawbacks, and deciding which one to choose is challenging.

Coilovers are adjustable suspension systems that use a coil spring and shock absorber in one unit.
Car fans and racers like these systems because they are easy to use, last a long time, and let you
fine-tune the suspension settings. Coilovers allow easy height and damping adjustments, providing
a more precise driving experience.

On the other hand, air suspension systems use air-filled bags instead of metal springs and shocks.
These systems are known for their smooth ride quality, adjustability, and ability to raise or lower a
vehicle's ride height. Air suspension systems are also popular with car fans and people who own
show cars because they can give a car a sleek, low look while keeping the ride comfortable.

In this infographic, we’ll compare the pros and cons of coilovers and air suspension systems. This
will help you choose the best adjustable suspension system for your car.

1960 Chevrolet Brookwood Wagon: Patina Perfection

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I’m a fan of Patina, you’re likely already aware. I’m also a fan of wagons, I mention this a little less often, but, it should also be common knowledge for long-time readers.

So, with those two things seeing this Brookwood Wagon at the most recent Majestics BBQ was a real treat.

This wagon was for sale about a year ago, and I remember drooling over the ad profusely.

If memory serves the car is a 1961 and, despite what the body says, it’s better than factory fresh.

A modern Chevrolet LS3 sits under the hood, looking retro thanks to a Holley Intake and accessory setup. It’s a great look for the car, fitting with the exterior but a heck of a bump up in power.

Inside the interior is fully refreshed, and features Dakota Digital gauges. It looks to have a working AC and that interior colour is tremendous.

The transmission is a 6-speed manual, again… a surprb choice.

I believe the car had a price tag in the way of nearly 70k, considering what you get isn’t all the bad. Hopefully, the new owner drives this a lot because it’s one serious machine.

Toronto Lowriders Unite For the 10th Annual Majestics BBQ

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A decade is a long time to dedicate to anything. So much can change in ten years that it takes a truly driven individual, or group of individuals to repeatedly devote both their time and energy year after year to a free event.

The Toronto chapter of the Majestics Car Club is a perfect example of a group that does what it can to support its lane of the automotive lifestyle. For ten years they’ve been giving back and showing love to not only Toronto Area ‘riders, but Ottawa, Montreal and Beyond.

Now, technically, 2022 would have marked the twelfth anniversary but Covid saw fit to tweak the numbers a bit. Making this the tenth event that took place twelve years after the first. Two plus two equals 6 here but it’s fine.

Miraculously I’ve been able to attend most of them along the way. They’re a favourite event of my son’s, so I don’t see that trend anytime soon either.

As always the BBQ was held at a park down by the Lakeshore, west of the City of Toronto. The Majestics were present, of course, alongside other notable local crews such as Luxurious, Rollerz Only and Affiliated.

There was also a great presence from Oldies, and Aftermath a club that was established fairly recently.

Many of the cars from Aftermath are fairly familiar. I’ve probably taken a very similar photo of this car every year I’ve seen it. It’s hard to resist though. Look up lowrider Impala in the dictionary and this car ticks off all the boxes. Chrome, wires, hydraulics, stereo. Done exquisitely.

On the other side of the lot “Oldies” parked something a little different alongside a few of their classic Bombs. Trackers in general are rare birds here in Ontario. Seeing them outside of an event is pretty much something that never happens.

I have no idea where they managed to find one so darn clean. As the plates stated; nothing too crazy was done to this one, they just kept it G. Maybe for the next event, they’ll bring out a green Foxbody drop on gold wires?

I can hear Computer Love playing now.

As I turned away from the Geo I was shocked to see just how many cars had filled the venue. It seemed like the roll-in of vehicles was non-stop throughout the day.

The group has never used this parking lot before and may have already outgrown it.

Many returning events have suffered from the after-effects of Covid with attendance numbers on the decline. This BBQ didn’t have this issue, far from it really. They actually had to start parking cars on the street in an attempt to keep everyone at least in the same vicinity.

I don’t have exact numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Majestics said it was one of the largest they’ve held thus far.

As a photographer and clear fan of lowriders, more cars mean more opportunities to capture the wealth of details owners pore into these cars. If anything I had a bit of an issue hyper-focusing on some cars at the sacrifice of bringing a broader coverage.

So if I did miss your car my bad, no intended slight, I’m just easily distracted by shiny things.

As you can see, there was an endless supply of shiny things.

Impalas and wires abound, which is more than ok by me.

This stroller was pretty rad too. I’ve wanted to build something cool for my son to go with my project, but let’s be honest by the time I finish I’m going to just have to build him a car.

You may have noticed that this post is fairly light on specifics pertaining to each car because quite honestly, I’ve broken down the science of these cars before, and it’s really not required.

With these cars, it’s just easier to let the photos do the talking and give those of you unable to attend the opportunity to take it all in.

Yes, taking it all in includes the fan favourite hopping. Hopping is one of those things that you either get you you don’t.

To me it’s like drifting, these cars are built for a purpose that’s a little different than their factory intended purpose.

From a functional and practical standpoint, it might not make a whole lot of sense, but it’s incredibly cool all the same. Life’s too short not to do what you love, even if some people will never get it.

There’s also a serious amount of time and dedication put into these cars to make them do what they do so well. As someone that appreciates fabrication, I love seeing cars hit bumper.

If you ever have a chance to see it first hand I suggest it.

So as always, my hats are tipped to the local lowrider community for their welcome and hospitality. See you at the next one.

Flat Rat: A Slammed1950 Ford COE Firetruck On Air

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I know, I know, I said I’d post more of this 1950 Ford COE just over a week ago. My bad, I got a little distracted. I’ll reveal why soon. But, take these additional photos of my penance.

This truck, known as the Flat Rat hails from Keswick Ontario and was built by it’s owner Scott Badger (@keswickscott).

Scott has owned the truck cab about ten years now. Things really got going on the truck about five years ago, with significant progress being made during the pandemic.

From behind the tilt cab to where the custom four-link starts is most of a widened Chevy 3500 chassis. Forward of the front wheels is mostly factory Ford with signficant modifications done to make the steering work at the truck’s new height.

The motor is a 7.3L Powerstroke with a T4 turbo upgrade backed by an automatic transmission.

Scott managed to keep as much original as he could, but he did have to replace a bit of sheet metal here and on the cab. The new additions were sprayed by Scott in either white or red.

Scott and his son also made all 11 feet of the bed from scratch.

Nothing more than an English wheel and a Princess Auto bead roller was used in the bed construction.

In fact, the entire truck was built in a rather humble home garage. Proving once again that where there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to do-it-yourself fabrication. Something that certainly provided a bit of motivation for my own project.

The tailgate of the truck is actually a second COE front end that has been modified to create a tailgate. Scott filled the grill, made it hinge and took the Super Duty embossing from a late model ford.

“If this isn’t Super Duty I don’t know what is,” Scott said.

For the eagle-eyed, yes the tail lights are rotated versions from a 65 Ford Mustang, Pretty clever if you ask me.

 

Obviously, this truck is very much up my alley and I hope to see more of it again soon.

Ontario is back jamming again and I’m absolutely here for it!

Event Coverage: Toronto Hot Rod Kulture: Father’s Day 2022

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Is there any better day to get out to a car event than Father’s Day? As a Father myself I have always used Father’s Day as a ‘get to a show’ free card.

Obviously, around here it’s assumed that I’ll be going to some sort of a car show anyway, but it’s still nice to have that ace up my sleeve one Sunday a year.

For 2022 my Father’s Day event of choice was the Toronto Hot Rod Kulture Season Opener. Some of you might remember I started attending these shows last year.

Host by the Road Reapers Car club these are charity events that take place typically one Sunday of each month, weather permitting.

The events are held at 75 Billy Bishop Way in North York which makes it a reasonable drive for most people in the Greater Toronto Area. However, some people do end up coming from pretty damn far.

As the name implies THRK is generally aimed toward Hot Rods. That’s fine by me because –as if you have not noticed– with each passing year I see to dive deeper and deeper into the local hot rod community.

Don’t worry Import guys, I’ll still make my way out to a few events. But, at least for Father’s day 2022 it was hot rods all the way.

The THRK events, much like Cars and Coffee, take place pretty early. Finishing up by 11 or so in the morning they leave plenty of daylight left for adult responsibilities.

Sure, you might have to wake up a little early, but the early bird gets the worm as they say.

Or perhaps in this case the early bird gets to see the Shelby Cobra? This was a seriously nice example of an authentic car.

One day I have to weasel my way into a ride in one of these cars. Real or Factory Five, I’m not too picky.

There were quite a few trucks in attendance, which is something I will never, ever, complain about. I’m not sure how many of you have been paying attention but the track market (I suppose like every other market) has gone absolutely mad.

Glad I picked up Project Why Wait when I did because I absolutely would not be able to afford it now.

Now I  just have to finish the damn thing so I can park up next to this killer Chevy.

Yes, I saw this truck last year, actually, I’ve probably taken photos of it at least 4 years in a row. Also, yes I am going to keep doing it as well. I’m sure you’re all fine with it.

Another car you can expect to see a lot of photos of is CJ’s turbo LS-powered Impala. I saw this car for the first time at Motorama.

My Motorama coverage was posted predominantly on Speedhunters and in that coverage, I mentioned he built the entire car in a single-car garage.

A single-car garage that lacks dedicated power.

That includes doing all the paintwork himself. Where there’s a will there’s a way as they say.

That’s probably my favourite part about Toronto Hot Rod Kulture events. Most of the vehicles have stories to tell.

If they don’t their owners do and most are more than willing to spend a few minutes chatting about what they’ve driven out to the event.

Or if they don’t have a real story they’re just plain cool.

Speaking of just plain cool, this COE was one of the coolest vehicles at the event.

It might be one of the coolest vehicles I’ll see all year. So much so that I’ll have a post up in a few days dedicated exclusively to it.

As I wrap this one up I need to give one more thanks to the guys at Toronto Hot Rod Kulture and the Road Reapers for doing what you do for the community.

If you want to catch the next Toronto Hot Rod Kulture event be sure to follow them on Instagram.

Turbo 13b Mini Clubman Estate

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Mazda 13b power living under the hood of a classic Mini Clubman Estate is the perfect way to get Swaps Are Everything up and running again after an extremely long Hiatus.

This little weapon was spotted at Motorama 2022 —check out my complete coverage here on Speedhunters— and I honestly couldn’t get enough of it.

The car itself is quite tidy all around and sits on wide (at least for a Mini) Hoosier rubber out back.

This leads me to believe that the little 13b, with not so little Garrett turbo beside it, works rather well.

I’m told the car makes somewhere in the neighbourhood of 500 horsepower, but I wasn’t able to speak to the owner to clarify. Sadly it seems like both his website and Instagram are down at the time of writing this.

Hopefully, he brings the car out to a few more events because I’d love to chat a little bit more about how this project came together. Maybe even shoot it for a feature one day, what do you think?

Event Coverage: ImportExpo Toronto 2022

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If you had told me in 2020 the next indoor event I would be writing about would be in 2022 I would have called you crazy.

However the last two years have been absolutely crazy, so I guess it all makes sense. For the out of towners, Ontario has been one of the most strict provinces in Canada with Covid-19 restrictions.

This meant that pretty well every indoor show was left to hurry up and wait. Saturday April 9th marked that wait as over with ImportExpo Toronto.

It’s not at all a secret that I’ve been to a lot of events, on both sides of the Canadian and US border. With that info I can honestly say without hyperbole that ImportExpo was one of the busiest shows I have ever been too.

I arrived two hours after doors opened and there was still a line up around the building. Inside people were everywhere.

As a fan of the local car community it was awesome to see the support for the first show in two years.

As a photographer, I had a tricky job ahead of me. People make very poor windows so I had to pick my shots carefully.

The best tactic in most cases was portrait photos, as I had less of a chance of catching someone walking through the frame.

This makes this round of coverage a little bit different than my typical, but I’m always down to make lemonade from lemons.

If the numbers ‘Expo is are indication, it should be a pretty eventful show season here in Ontario.

During Covid the natural thing for car people to do is build and wrench. All this time meant many were happy to show of their latest round of modifications.

Cars I became accustomed to looking at one way remerged with visual or mechanical overhauls. Or often both.

This helped keep the show from feeling too repetitive overall.

I already gavethe Prazis Air JP M45 some shine but there were quite a few that had a remixed vibe going on.

One such example is the Import Expo NSX. Brett has had this NSX for many years now and every year he gives it a bit of a makeover.

For reference, the last time it appeared on the site it looked like the above. Sitting on mag blue TE37s.

The changes this year are much more significant than a new finish on the wheels.

The car is now freshly twin charged. With a supercharger on one end of the motor and a turbocharger on the other.

I don’t know if the car is currently fully tuned in this configuration, but it was incredibly impressive to look at none the less.

It’s a heck of a lot, in not a lot of space. Might have to see if its possible to get a closer look at this car on another day.

While we’re talking Hondas, its always nice to see more than one clean EFs at an event. Frank Vitulli’s we’ve seen several times before but the teal one is new to me.

I can’t help but shake my head at how many of these cars got sent to early graves around here.

Tuned By Nick also had one of my favorite Honda-powered vehicles at the event. Yes, I said Honda powered.

Nick has swapped in a turbocharged Honda K motor.

It’s really stuffed in there, but the car does work rather well if his YouTube channel is to tell the tale.

You guys already know I love a good off brand swap, and this one really at the Porsche Purists wondering if anything is still sacred.

Being as busy as the show was, the time went fast as a I bobbed and weaved the people who remained.

On my way out there was one car I absolutely had to take another look at this stunning red mk3 Toyota Supra

I think I may have seen the car before, but as they say wheels can totally change a vehicle.

The 3 piece conversion donr to these factory Toyota wheels completely changes their look and honestly puts plenty of after market wheels to damn shame.

As the Import Expo trophies say, Saturday Night certainly was live. Hopefully for the next event they can get a bit more of the venue to allow for both more cars and more people.

Either way I’m excited to see what Ontario has to offer for 2022. We’re back, finally!

Remixed By Prazis Air Suspension

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Import Expo took place almost exactly a week ago here in Toronto marking the first indoor show I have attended since the start of the pandemic in 2019.

To say the show was busy would be a gross understatement. It was absolutely packed.

In the sea of people and cars, one popped up as pretty familiar.

Sitting in the Prazis Air Suspension air booth was a notable previous feature car, a Junction Produce Equipped Infinity M45.

Years go by fast and quite honestly it’s probably been at least eight since I last saw this beautiful example of a VIP car. In that time it’s changed hands twice rather quietly.

It’s back out on the show circuit today than to Michael Cataluna who’s picked up the mantel for Prazis Air here In Ontario.

Prazis is a new air ride company in Canada, and in the back of the Infiniti was their P4-GS digital management system.

Like most modern digital management systems this one features presets, a wired control and wireless control.

The ‘P’ in the P4 stands for piano. Despite being a digital display it does operate rather uniquely, showcasing the operation of the valves right on top of the manifold.

Over the years I’ve become a bit of an air suspension technology nerd so it’s always cool to see what new companies are bringing to the table. From a wow factor perspective this manifold certainly stands out.

As for Import Expo, there will be a bit more from that show to come this week as I go through a few more photos. I’m stoked events have finally returned to Ontario!